Amazon Prime vs Amazon Student: What’s The Difference?

More than 100 million shoppers around the world subscribe to Amazon Prime. If you’re a college student, you can join their ranks for the half the price that non-students pay.

But is Amazon Prime worth the upgrade, or is Amazon Student a better deal?

There are some key differences between the two programs, so read on for more information on Amazon Prime vs. Amazon Student.

What It’ll Cost You

Right now, most people have to pay $119 a year to get the benefits offered by Amazon Prime. Amazon instituted the price increase in 2018. Previously, members could pay $99 a year. If you got in on Amazon Prime when it first launched, you only had to pay $79.

Two price increases in the 13-year history of Amazon Prime may not sound too drastic on the surface, but something about seeing the price go over $100 and into triple digits made more and more people question whether or not the service is worth it.

For students, that question is easier to answer, because college students only have to pay $59 a year. Students will need a valid email address that ends with .edu to sign up, so if you attend classes at a school that hasn’t given you one of those email addresses, try to resolve that first.

There are alternate ways to enroll in Amazon Prime for students, but they require you to email the company a photo, screenshot, or scan of something like a class schedule or college acceptance letter.

Verified students can receive up to four years of Amazon Prime at the discounted rate. After that, the subscription will automatically renew at the regular rate of $119, so make sure to cancel if you don’t want to pay full price.

What You Get With Amazon Prime vs. Amazon Student

You do get to use more services when paying the full price, but the difference isn’t as vast as it might seem on the surface.

Prime for Students still comes with free two-day shipping and access to things like Prime Day, Deal of the Day, and other deals.

If you live in a place with access to same-day delivery through Amazon Now, then you get that as well.

Having trouble eating healthy while keeping up with school? You can fix that by getting free delivery from Whole Foods in some cities.

Students also watch TV and movies via Prime Video.

There is a difference when it comes to the availability of streaming music, at least during one specific period.

Amazon Student’s Free Trial Period

That Amazon student discount comes with what could be a fairly significant catch, though: you don’t get access to the massive library of streaming music until after the six months is up.

So if you need immediate access to Prime Music, be prepared to turn down that lengthy free trial and pay $59 up front.

During the trial, you also can’t access the Kindle lending library or snag 20 percent off on diapers.

When comparing Prime Student vs. Prime, know that Amazon does offer some discounts that are exclusive to students. The biggest of those is the ability to trade in your old textbooks in exchange for Amazon credit.

More on Amazon Prime

If you enjoyed this breakdown of Amazon Prime vs. Amazon Student, there’s more where that came from.

We can also help you do things like navigating your way through the maze of Amazon reviews, so give us a look.